“MATT WILSON??”I yelp, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.
“Yes?” I turn to the voice standing in the doorway and see my brother’s college best friend and former roommate standing there, looking down at me with the sexiest smirk I’ve ever seen, with Vinny in tow.
I’m momentarily paralyzed with shock. Clara grabs me by the shirt, shaking me as much as she can, but I’m still trying to recover here.
Words. I need to remember how to say them.
Play it cool.
“H—” I start to say but am interrupted by Clara vomiting all over my shirt.
What—and I cannot stress this enough—the actual fuck??
“DID HE SEE?How bad was it?” I ask Danielle desperately while we attempt to clean some of the mess on me.
“Uh, considering he was pretty much right in front of you when it happened, I’d say pretty fucking bad,” she laughs, blotting at my hair. “It. Is. Everywhere.Wow,” she says with wide eyes.
“You know, your sarcasm isn’t really helping. And this is all your fault. You gave me the sick baby who threw up all over me in front of Majestic Matt!”
Danielle snorts at me as she gives up trying to wipe the vomit from my hair. “You call him Majestic Matt? What?” She laughs at me.
I sigh deeply. “That was the nickname I had for him when he was living with Vinny during med school. I rarely saw him, but whenever I did, he always looked majestic. So, he became Majestic Matt.” I shrug. “Obviouslyneither my brother nor Matt himself know about this nickname, so please let’s keep it that way.”
“Ohmigod, this is so cute. You had a crush on him?” She smiles, clapping her hands together. I sigh in frustration.
“Yeah, when I was, like, ateenager. I’m a mature adult woman now. I’m over it. I’m totally, absolutely unaffected by his presence, so don’t go planning anything weird or whatever.” I wiggle my finger at her.
She laughs and pats me on the head—the part that’s not matted in vomit, that is—and says, “It’s just as well. I think your brother would have his balls if he comes anywhere near you, to be honest. I’ve heard some wild stories about Vinny and your Manly Matt’s nights out.”
I glare at her and hiss. “It’sMajesticMatt, notManly.And he’s notmine,” I say. I mean, I absolutely, positively would not mind him being mine—or me being his, for that matter. Even if it’s just for one night, if you know what I mean. But Danielle is right. Even if Ididever get Matt to give me the time of day, Vinny would lose his shit.
Stupid bro code.
I sigh and push Danielle’s hand away. I give up. “Yeah, I’m gonna need you to leave so I can shower.”
She waves at me dismissively and leaves my childhood bathroom with a laugh. “Lunch is in twenty minutes, by the way!” she calls over her shoulder.
I look in the mirror and assess myself. I am an absolute and total mess. My favorite sweater is completely destroyed (I hope Vinny is aware that he will be getting a bill for its replacement), and my hair is incredibly gross. I start feeling annoyed that I need to shower, redo my hair, makeup, and get dressed when I realize…I get to redo my hair, makeup, and pick a cuter outfit.
All of a sudden, I want to run downstairs and kiss Clara’s head (she’s doing great now, by the way) because I wasn’t prepared to see Matt before, but now I can be by using my niece’s vomit as an excuse!
I dive quickly into the shower, scrubbing the vomit out of my hair, rinsing and repeating at least three times, being extra careful. I condition with the super-expensive orange hair mask I stole from Dani while I lather my body in coconut body wash and rinse everything out. I only have about ten minutes left to blow-dry, do my makeup, and get dressed, but it’s doable. I can absolutely make it to the table, like, five minutes late.
ONCEI’M DONE,I breathe a sigh of relief. I looksomuch better than the last time he saw me. Pre-vomit and post-vomit. By some miracle, I was able to fix my hair in a reasonable amount of time to the point that it looks good! Shiny! And most importantly, clean! I wear a cream ribbed turtleneck bodysuit and high-waisted olive jeans. I’m trying to pull offcozy fallmeetstrendy fallwith the little I had packed for this trip, and I think I’ve managed it. I know I’m being ridiculous, but hasn’t everyone acted a little crazy in front of a childhood crush?
“She lives!” Vinny says when I approach the table.
“Ha-ha,” I say sarcastically and stop dead in my tracks when I realize the only free seat at the table is next to Majestic Matt, and holy crap, does he still live up to his nickname! Between the initial shock of seeing him for the first time after at least six years and the projectile vomit, I completely forgot to check him out properly. Now that I’m up close, I can truly appreciate him for the god that he is.
He’s changed some since the last time I saw him. Like fine wine, Matt seems to have improved with age. Even through his burgundy cable-knit sweater, I can tell by how his muscles flex when he turns to look at me that any trace of baby fat or a beer belly he might have had in med school is gone and has now been replaced with broad shoulders, a muscular back, and what I suspect is a very defined six-pack under all that knit material. The smooth olive skin on his face is now covered by a trimmed, dark-brown beard that he wears like a hot, sexy lumberjack.
Mmmm. I’ve never kissed a guy with a beard before.
Whoa, okay. Calm down.
Though this Matt is definitely more man than boy, his dark-green eyes still shine with mischief. He faces me with a smile and a simple, “Hi,” and I’m done. If I could barely handle Matt when he was an annoying frat bro, how the hell am I going to be able to control myself and act like a normal human with this Majestic Matt 2.0 situation? I mean, I can tell you right now that I will not be at my most verbose throughout this entire lunch.
“Hi,” I say back as he stands to pull the chair out for me. I look up at him, surprised, while Vinny’s fork stops midway to his mouth. Mom doesn’t notice anything weird, but I catch Danielle covering her mouth to hide a smile.
